Review #729 - SMWS Distillery 4 Rare Release 'Take Me to the Chippy' - Highland Park 20 Year

Written By Me, My Wife & Whisky

While the majority of the releases from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society are single cask bottlings, the independent bottler also produces small batch products from time to time. Sometimes, these are blends of whisky from several distilleries, but other times, they're still bottled as single malts, as the batch is made using a few casks all from the same distillery. That's the case here: we have a small batch 'Rare Release' from Highland Park, and one that boasts a 20 year age statement.

The Society doesn't disclose the exact number of casks or how many of each type were used, but we do know that this is a vatting of Highland Park single casks that included refill ex-bourbon HTMC (heavy toast, medium char) hogsheads and refill ex-Islay Oloroso sherry hogsheads. They don't disclose the Islay distillery that previously used these 'ex-Islay' casks, but on other similar releases, the casks had previously been used to mature Laphroaig spirit. Based on the outturn of 924 bottles, we're guessing 3 to 5 total casks were used to create this small batch.

In the end, this whisky was bottled in the Society's desirable 'Oily & Coastal' flavor profile, and the strength sits at a punchy 54.7% ABV.

SMWS Distillery 4 Rare Release 'Take Me to the Chippy' - Highland Park 20 Year

Scotland/Highland - Single Malt

Price: USD 375 (2025)

Age Statement: 20 Years

Strength: 54.7% ABV

Cask Makeup: Refill ex-bourbon HTMC hogsheads and ex-Islay Oloroso sherry hogsheads

Details: Not chill filtered, no color added; distilled May 26, 2003; 924 bottles

Tasting Methodology: Reviewed 1 time; bottle at 100% fill level at time of review. Tasted in a nosing glass, rested 15+ minutes

Nose: Floral, with vanilla, honey, and a soft peaty influence. Orange and lemon candies arrive later, and we also get some buttery croissants. It grows more salty and coastal with time; later, a bit of perfume and heather build.

Palate: Delicious - passionfruit, sweet candy, and vanilla, juxtaposed by soft peat and some wood smoke. Hay and malt add a bit of spirit character, and we get subtle dark fruits and a kick from the oak. Refined sugar adds more sweetness; like the nose, perfume notes grows stronger at the end. This has a medium-thick mouthfeel.

Finish: Heathery with bright notes of icing sugar, pears, and some fizzy, effervescent peat. Orange rind and floral notes add some nuance; it's a long finish.

Final Note: Another delicious Highland Park bottling from the SMWS, and while we did get some dark fruit notes, the Oloroso cask influence on this bottle seemed more reserved to us. We found much more in the way of baking notes, light fruits, and some wood spice from the refill bourbon HTMC casks; the peat level on this bottle also seemed close to the normal Highland Park peat level, not too smoky despite the Islay cask influence.

Value is below average here due to the high price tag, but it is a great bottle. If you're a particular fan of Highland Park, a single cask similar to this could be a good pickup, but there are some other Society whiskies that offer a bit more value in our books.

Our Rating: 8.5 / 10

In the current whisky landscape of increasing prices and variable quality, we've added a value rating to our reviews that relates to the score and the available pricing of each whisky. This roughly equates to a 0-10 scale; no reviews so far have exceeded a score of 10, although it is technically possible for the formula to produce a value rating higher than 10 with a high enough score and low enough price.

Value Rating: 4.72

About Us: We're a husband and wife review team living in the Midwest United States. Generally, our reviews and tasting notes will be a compilation of both of our experiences with a whisky over several tasting sessions.

Me, My Wife & Whisky
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Review #728 - SMWS 4.293 'A Cunning Combo' - Highland Park 19 Year